Issues - Gender bias Flashcards
define gender bias
When psychological research offers a view that does not justifiably represent the experience of both men and women.
This threatens the iniversality of research that aims to develop theories that apply to eveyone
Who conducted research into differences between sexes
Macoby and Jacklin 1974
What are the findings of Mackoby and Jacklin 1974
They concluded there was only consistent evidence for 4 differences:
- Girls have a greater verbal ability than boys
- boys have greater visual and spacial abilities than girls
- boys have greater arithmetic abilities than girls
- girls are less agressive than boys
What are the characteristics of extreme female brains
- high empathising
- low systemising skills
What do exteme female brains help explain
Bremser and Gallup 2012:
proposed that having an extreme female brain could explain the different prevalence rates in eating disorders between sexes.
What are the characteristics of extreme male brains
- high systemising
- low empathising skills
What do exteme male brains help explain
baron-cohen 2002:
argied the higher prevalence rates of ASD in males is a result of having an ‘extreme male brain’
what are the types of gender bias
- alpha bias
- beta bias
define alpha bias
Behaviour is misrepresented because psychological research exaggerates/ overestimates the differences between the sexes
What is a consequence of alpha bias
one gender is devalued in comparison with the other.
Where is alpha bias in psychological research you have covered
- Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
- diagnosis of SZ
- Freud’s theory that women are failed men
How is Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation an example of alpha bias
Bowlby over exaggerates the role of the mother, whilst devaluing the role of the father.
How is diagnosis of Sz an example of alpha bias
Overestimates the differences in prevelance rates of SZ so diagnosis may be missed in female patients
How is Freud’s theory that women are failed men an example of alpha bias
this theory devalues women claiming they are sexually inferior. They have penis envy because they arent men
what are the implications of alpha bias
- creates misleading assumptions about male/female behaviour
- leads to potentially damaging social stereotypes and scientific ‘justifiucations’ to deny people oppertunities or diagnose disorders.
define beta bias
behavior is misrepresented because psychological research minimises/ underestimates the differences betweeen the sexes.
Where is beta bias in psychological research you have covered
- Asch and Zimbardo
- fight/ flight
- kohlberg
How are Asch and Zimbardo an example of beta bias
Asch and Zimbardo are examples of researchers who only used male participants in their research but published their findings as universal
How flight or flight research an example of beta bias
fight or flight research was conducted on male animals however new research suggests higher levels of oxytocin in females results in them leaning towards ‘tend and befriend’
How is kohlberg an example of beta bias
Kohlberg states that his staged theory of moral development of descision making was simultaneuously androcentric and universal
What are the implications of beta bias
- It encourages men and women to be seen as equals which leads to more equal oppertunities.
- However it may lead to misrepresentation of experiences.
define androcentrism
also known as the ‘male bias’ and is when behavior of men is accepted as the norm and behaviour of women is different is therefore atypical.
what is androcentrism a consequence of
gender bias whether alpha or beta
